What Do You See
by I-write-for-enlightenment
Summary: She is a medical student who has a secret habit of gambling. Her game is science and statistics, and she takes home the money every night she's in the casino. Being a full time student at a prestigious university with no source of financial support has her using her talent in the most profitable way. She hasn't been caught so far, and she's hoping that luck stays in her favor.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Naruto or characters affiliated in the show/manga. I am writing this fictional story for fun and not for profit.

* * *

A jack of hearts and a five of hearts. Her hand was nothing special in the game of Texas Hold'em but she knew how to play her cards right.

Looking around the table she took note of the people playing and their faces, their expressions in particular. As the dealer starts turning over the initial three cards she discreetly takes note of the body language displayed by the players now.

The man to her right had a hand over his pile of chips. He was playing with them by picking some from the top and letting them fall back into place. After he got his cards and peaked at them he stopped playing with the chips and drew his hand closer to his person. His other hand that had not been doing anything before now also moved towards his chest until both hands are clasped and fingers are interwoven, and then his thumbs start caressing his hands.

His actions register as self-comforting. That lets her know that he is trying to reassure himself of his decision. With that in mind she doesn't worry about him in the game. Soon comes his action and he folds.

With him out of the game she goes onto looking at the others, after her quick sweep she raises. The cards drawn by the dealer were not too bad, and the remaining cards to be drawn could be in her favor. Currently there was a four of hearts, queen of clubs, and a king of diamonds on the table. Two people call her and one of them raises.

The next round is about to begin and she is ready to make some money tonight.

By the end of the night she was seven thousand dollars heavier.


	2. Chapter 1

It's now Monday morning and she has to go to school. Luckily today her first class starts at eleven and the alarm clock read that it's nine forty.

After spending last night and early morning at the casino, and after getting home around two, she was grateful for the extra hours of sleep that she wouldn't usually have on an average school day.

It was on her way to the bathroom that she decides to get herself some pancakes for breakfast, as a treat for her win at the casino.

After her quick shower, she gets dressed in some blue jeans, black boots, and an olive green oversized sweater over a gray thin tee shirt. Quickly drying her hair and applying some lotion and chap stick she heads for the door. Grabbing her school bag and keys she was out of the door with her wall clock reading ten twenty.

Once she got to her car she cranked on the heating. The weather was transitioning from fall to winter and that meant that her fall semester was almost up.

* * *

Currently on her way to campus, she stops by the diner that she's been going to since she arrived to this town. It was conveniently on her way to campus, and it was quaint enough that she could go in and read without being disturbed or it being too loud.

Stepping into the diner she was enveloped in warmth. One of the ladies who works as a waitress and host sees her and starts to walk towards her and greets her.

"Hey sweetie, would you like your usual?" asked the waitress.

"Good morning Ayame, yes the usual please" she responds with a smile.

"How is that web-site set up coming along?" she asked the waitress.

"The site has just gone up, but there seems to be no traffic flow yet" answered Ayame.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure people will find it soon enough, and then you'll be getting tons of orders!" answered the young woman.

Ayame gave the girl a smile and replied with, "let me get your coffee" before she started to walk away.

Looking out the window to her left she was able to see where she parked and who was coming into the diner. Taking a closer look at the sky she saw that the clouds headed towards her looked especially dark. She hoped that it wouldn't rain today. Lost in her thoughts she didn't notice when Ayame walked to her table and only just noticed the woman when she set the cup of coffee down.

"I'll be back in a little bit with your order" Ayame said with a brief smile before heading to the front of the diner where a couple just walked in.

Looking at the couple she could see that they were genuinely happy with each other.

Turning away from the couple and looking at the empty seat across from her she couldn't help but feel a bit lonely. Before long she was lost in her thoughts of how it would be like if she had a boyfriend. Thinking of getting a boyfriend and spending time with someone who she could act physically affectionate to also brought up memories of her last boyfriend, and that left a sour taste in her mouth.

Quickly dispelling the thought of needing a guy in her life, she saw Ayame make her way to her table. She sat down her meal and cutlery and asked if she needed anything else, to which she answered no. Before Ayame left she made sure to give her thanks.

Looking at the spread of food in front of her she took a deep inhale of the heavenly food. She had a cup of black coffee, a stack of pancakes on one plate, and on the other plate she had toast and eggs sunny side up.

By the time she finished eating the clock in the diner read ten thirty. Getting up she headed to the counter. There Ayame was re-stalking, but stopped after she saw her heading towards the register.

"All done sweetie?" Ayame asked kindly.

"Yes" the girl replied. She took out her money for the meal and handed it to her.

"Thank you Ayame, and you can keep the change" said the girl before she turned around and left the diner.

* * *

When she got to campus it was ten forty -five, which gave her more than enough time to get to her first class. Making her way to class she noticed some of the trees were almost completely bare. The wind was getting harsher and the temperature colder. She would have to start wearing scarves and gloves soon.

Once she arrived to class she saw that there were already some students. She sat in her self appointed seat which was in the front row. Getting settled in she started to take out her class material, and decided to look over the notes she took last class as she waited for this session to start.

The time was ten fifty-five and almost all thirty students were in the class. At eleven on the dot her professor came in.

Professor Tsunade's honors class was said to be the toughest. But if you got the highest grade in her class then you were allowed an apprenticeship with her in her hospital.

Currently she holds the top grade, and is determined to keep it.

The class went on and whenever the professor asked the class questions she would always have her hand up. When class was over and everyone started leaving the classroom with their new assignments, she went up to talk to her professor.

"Professor Tsunade is the exam on Thursday going to cover chapter twelve?" she asked.

"Yes, but only the first half of the lesson" answered her professor as she started to pack her papers and laptop into her suitcase.

"You did good work today in class Sakura" finished her mentor before she grabbed her suitcase and turned to leave the classroom. Sakura followed behind her and with a final wave both ladies went their separate ways.

Sakura headed towards the campus library, she planned on studying for a while before her next class started. Arriving at the library she secured a small table for herself. There she started to lay out her books, notes, and assignments. She was there for a good hour before she started to pack up and head for her next class.

The rest of the day went on as usual. It wasn't until she was on her way back to campus parking that she saw her best friend getting out of her car with her huge bag.

"Hey Ino" Sakura said as she walked up to her friend's car.

"Hey Sakura, just finish your last class?" asked her friend.

"Yeah, I'm headed home now" she answered.

"Ok, you're still going clubbing with us this Friday right?" asked the blonde.

"Hell yeah!" she answered back.

"I'll come over around nine to help you pick out something not cringe worthy" teased Ino.

A pout appeared on Sakura's face at her friends comment.

"My sense of style isn't that bad" she defended.

"It's not that bad when its normal clothes, but when it comes to partying you dress like a nun" Ino responded.

"Whatever, shouldn't you be getting to class now?" questioned Sakura.

"Shit! I gotta go! Bye Forehead!" shouted her best friend as she started making her way towards her class's building.

"See you Friday pig!" she shouted back.

Turning towards her car she unlocked the driver's door before moving her backpack to the empty passengers seat. Comfortably settled in her seat, she turned the ignition on and soon after turned the heat on. Then she pulled out of her parking spot and headed back home.

* * *

Unlocking her front door she stepped through to her cozy apartment. She quickly closed the door behind her in order to preserve the warmth her home provided. Twisting her front door lock into place she then placed her home and car keys on the tall wooden table in the entryway that held an orchid.

Walking to the living room, she placed her backpack on the low table before heading towards her room. Once inside her room she glanced at her alarm clock which read four, and then immediately began taking off her boots, her pants, sweater, tee shirt and bra.

Making sure to put her boots back in their proper spot with the rest of her shoe collection; then placing her worn clothes in her laundry bin. Making her way towards her dresser, she opened the first drawer and pulled out a loose fitting wine red tee shirt and then pulling out her worn out gray drawstring shorts and a pair of fluffy socks. Disregarding the need for a bra in her own home she started dressing.

Appearing in her living room wearing comfortable clothes she began to take out her school books and place them on her low table. She sat there reading notes, doing homework, and reading ahead for a few hours before she heard her stomach growl. Startled by the sound her stomach made she looked up towards the wall clock she had, it read six thirty.

Realizing that it was getting late and that she has yet to eat dinner. She stood up from her spot on the floor and stretched for a second before walking to the kitchen.

Looking through her pantry and refrigerator she was pleased to see that she had all the ingredients to make tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. It didn't take too long to prepare, and soon she was enjoying her warm meal.

By the time she was done eating the clock read seven thirty. She decided to study for a while longer. It was nine by the time she stopped studying and took a shower. Getting out of the shower she put on a matching pajama set that had cats as the pattern, brushed her teeth, brushed through her hair and got ready for bed by putting away her school work.

Before calling it a night she made sure to have all her school assignments and material ready in her backpack.

By the time she actually fell asleep it was ten.


	3. Chapter 2

Waking up to the sound of her alarm, Sakura checked the time which read eight fifteen. Today her first class started at nine.

She put on some skinny styled khaki pants, a white v-neck shirt, over that she put a black cardigan, and lastly a pair of flat black shoes.

She made herself a quick breakfast before grabbing her bag, keys, phone, and leaving the apartment.

The school day went on as usual. As did the rest of the week.

* * *

After her Friday class ended at one thirty, all she wanted to do was have the rest of her day to relax. However, that would have to wait until tomorrow because tonight Ino was coming over to doll her up to go clubbing. And that meant that she would have to organize her closet today or else her best friend would make a mess turning it upside down in order to find certain articles of clothes.

Which also meant that she should get her laundry clean now or she could potentially run into the problem of Ino looking through her dirty clothes in order to find the perfect bra for a dress. It's happened before and she doesn't doubt that it won't happen again. And she'd rather save herself the embarrassment of someone digging through dirty panties and socks to find "the perfect strapless bra" again.

It was around nine with Ino knocked on her front door. Opening the door for her, Sakura was not surprised to see Ino already dressed for a night of dancing and impressing. She looked amazing as always, she had on skinny styled black high waisted jeans, and a gold sequined crop-top, paired with gold glittering high heels. Her blonde hair was tied in a messy bun with her bangs covering her right eye, and her smokey eye makeup drew attention to her clear blue eyes.

Without any prompting Ino headed towards Sakura's bedroom, and started going through her closet.

"Did you shave?" came Ino's muffled voice from her closet.

"Yeah," answered Sakura.

"Good, because I was thinking you should wear this" said Ino as she came out of the closet holding a red mid thigh body-con skirt.

"Why do I have to be stuck wearing a skirt when you get to wear pants?" complained Sakura.

"Because you have a great set of toned legs that you don't show off enough!" retorted her friend.

Sakura pouted at her friend's choice.

"Well then I want to wear a long sleeved shirt. I would feel too cold since I'm already wearing a skirt" said Sakura.

"I think we can come to a compromise on that" answered Ino.

Soon she pulled out a black long sleeved off the shoulder crop-top.

Sakura deadpanned after seeing the shirt.

"What part of showing too much skin, and being cold don't you understand?" asked Sakura.

"Oh come on Sakura, the club is going to have a lot of people that it won't be cold at all. And there will be so many other girls wearing less than you, no one will think anything of it!" reasoned Ino.

Sakura huffed and then gave up.

"Alright!" she complied, "but I get a say on my makeup" she stated firmly.

"Ok, ok now hurry up and change" answered Ino quickly as she pushed the articles of clothes towards Sakura.

"Oh and don't forget these" called Ino as she gave Sakura a nude colored strapless bra and lace red panties.

As Sakura was getting changed Ino picked a pair of nude pumps for Sakura to wear and set it aside.

After she was finished dressing she went to her vanity where Ino was already setting up her makeup for the night. Looking at herself in the mirror she was slightly uncomfortable with the small slip of skin her midriff exposed by wearing the crop top with the skirt.

Ino saw that Sakura was scrutinizing herself in the outfit, so she gave her opinion to dispel any ludicrous thoughts that were going through her best friend's head.

"Sakura you look great, really. Don't be bothered about showing some skin, you have a killer body so you don't have any reason to be self conscious" comforted her friend.

Hearing Ino confess that she shouldn't be embarrassed had Sakura feeling more comfortable and confident.

Throughout the process of Ino doing her makeup they would get into short arguments about what was too much according to Sakura and what was too little in Ino's opinion. Because of that the makeup process took forever. But in the end both of them were pleased with the result of soft smokey eye look and not too bright red lips.

Next they went into her bathroom and did her long hair in loose waves.

After that was finished the clock read ten thirty, so they touched up their outfits and Sakura got her shoes on before they headed towards her front door. Making sure that they both had everything they locked up and headed out.

* * *

By the time they reached the club it was eleven fifteen and almost all their friends were already there. They were in a round booth against one of the walls. Sasuke and Naruto were already downing shots trying to outdo each other. Kiba was trying to convince Hinata to dance with him. Lee was on the dance floor by himself. And Shikamaru was talking to Choji who was eating.

Sitting down with the rest of the group, the two of them ordered their shots from a waitress before joining the conversation.

"Hey you guys finally made it!" yelled Naruto, who stopped taking shots to address his friends.

"It's about time" commented Shikamaru.

"Oh stop complaining and dance with me" said Ino before she drank a shot that was meant for Naruto and took Shikamaru's hand to lead him to the dance floor.

"There they go" quietly said Hinata.

"Hey Hinata" greeted Sakura, "have Tenten and Shino showed up yet?" she asked the group.

"Nah, but they did say they were going to be late" answered Kiba.

Sakura consumed her shot, and watched the mass of bodies dancing. She wasn't aware that Ino had come back to their booth, and soon she was being tugged up by her best friend.

"Come on! You need to dance and loosen up" stated Ino.

Relenting, Sakura got up and went to the dance floor with Ino. The music started to pick up and the two of them started to really get into the music. It wasn't long before Sakura was lost in the hot bodies of strangers, and hypnotized by the vibrating music and flashing lights that she hadn't noticed that Ino left to get another drink.

Still dancing to the beat of the music Sakura felt eyes on her so she turned around. To her surprise a very good looking man was staring at her intently. Sakura blushed and avoided eye contact with the man. She was not used to getting this kind of heated attention from men, turning around to tell Ino about the man, she finally noticed that she wasn't there. Still flustered and now annoyed at her friend for ditching her Sakura made her way off the dance floor and headed back to her group of friends, confident that she'd find Ino there.

Halfway to the large booth where all her friends were she ran into Ino carrying two drinks.

"Where are you going?" asked Ino who had just left the bar and was making her way back towards the dance floor.

"I thought you went back to the table" said Sakura.

"I was getting us drinks" answered Ino motioning to the two glasses in her hands.

At the gesture Sakura took one from her.

"Thanks" mumbled Sakura.

"You should have just stayed on the dance floor, I would have come back" she claimed.

"I know, I just..there was this guy…" started Sakura.

"Who?" asked Ino excitedly. And she made a show of quickly turning around and looking closely at the men who were in the direction that Sakura came from.

"Describe him!" demanded Ino now facing her friend.

Sighing and taking a sip of her drink Sakura started, "Well I didn't get a good look at him, but he was tall and had red hair and... I actually don't remember much other than that" she finished lamely.

"Why'd you run away from him if he was obviously interested?" asked Ino.

Huffing at her friend's behavior Sakura told Ino her issue with pursuing that man.

"There would be no reason to talk to him or follow his advances" spoke Sakura.

"And why's that?" questioned Ino.

"Cause I'm not looking for a relationship" she answered.

"Oh come on Sakura! I already told you that the best way to get over a relationship is to get back out there!...I thought you were over Neji by now" spoke the blonde.

"I am!" insisted Sakura.

"Then prove it! Just because you're not looking for a relationship doesn't mean you can't have fun" said Ino.

Having nothing to say after Ino's comment Sakura took another sip of her drink in order to avoid answering.

Sighing at her friends bashful behavior she decided to drop the topic.

"Did you want to dance some more or head back to the table?" asked Ino.

"I was going to sit down for a while" said Sakura starting to go back to her friends with Ino following.

Both women seamlessly integrated back into the conversation their friends were having, and soon they finished their drinks and ordered more. It was somewhere in between Sakura's third drink that she mentioned not being able to get too crazy because she has work the next day.

Her intention at stopping after her third drink didn't go as planned because soon the group started talking about relationships and the future, and that was something that Sakura didn't want to be sober around. Her discomfort was also intensified because Neji's cousin Hinata was right across from her, and she knew the reason behind their breakup.

The reasoning behind her breakup with Neji still stung. Without thinking about the aftermath Sakura ordered another drink. At first she didn't participate in the conversation and was leisurely taking sips of her beverage. However, after she had a few more drinks in her and the topic of parent's approval was brought up Sakura couldn't keep quiet.

"I don't think parents should have the final decision of who their child can or can't be with!" stated Sakura.

"I don't think they should either, but since a lot of us have more traditional families with reputations it happens more often than not" said Shikamaru.

"Yeah, I've had my mom make me break up with a girlfriend because she said she'd never live with a dog!" commented Kiba.

"That's absurd!" exclaimed Sakura.

"But is it really?" questioned Sasuke, "The Inuzuka are an old family that have the tradition of coexisting with dogs, family members are to have a dog companion for life. It makes sense that your mom would ask you to break up with your girlfriend, because she didn't want you wasting time with someone who would never be accepted into the family as your wife" finished Sasuke.

"Whatever! I'm just saying I would never marry anyone who couldn't say no to their parents!" stated Sakura.

She took another shot, and sat out of the rest of the conversation. The night went on and Sakura was drunk by the end of it.

It was early three by the time Sakura made it back to her apartment. Thankfully Shikamaru drove her and Ino home since both of them were under the effects of alcohol and were unable to drive.

After locking up her door, and taking off her shoes Sakura headed straight for her bedroom all the while taking off all her clothes but her underwear.

Falling down on her bed and sighing into her pillows Sakura pulled her bed sheets over her body and fell asleep.


End file.
